


Fallout Fragments

by Eiderdown



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Bad Jokes, Bickering, Creepypasta, Crying, Drinking to Cope, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Smooching, Spooky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-23 23:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19711864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiderdown/pseuds/Eiderdown
Summary: A collection of short fics from prompts submitted by Tumblr users. Each chapter has the prompt listed in the notes at the top so you can decide if you're interested in that particular one.





	1. X6-88 and Deacon

**Author's Note:**

> "the prompt: the pairing (romantic or platonic) is X6 and Deacon, the scenario is them discussing humor or exchanging jokes !"
> 
> From: kimbureh.tumblr.com
> 
> An artist on Tumblr, falloutern, was inspired to draw an X6 based on this fic! Do yourself a favor and take a look after reading. It's fabulous!  
> https://falloutern.tumblr.com/post/186136282447/youre-doing-great-x6-sweetie-read-the-original

“I fail to see how this is relevant to our goal.”

If Deacon didn’t know better, he’d say X6-88 sounded a touch… sulky. He stepped back to admire his work. “Okay, take a look in the mirror.”

X6 peered at himself in the hand mirror. A cowboy hat was on his head and a pair of Groucho glasses and mustache perched on top of his normal sunglasses. There was a long pause.

Deacon tapped his foot. “C’mon, this is hilarious.”

“I fail to see the humor.”

“We’re failing at a lot of things here, Eight-Eight. Look, do you want to disappoint Sole? The only thing she wants for her birthday is one joke from you. We’ve established your comedic timing is non-existent so now we’re stuck with prop comedy.”

If Deacon sounded impatient, it was only because it had been a very long afternoon. They were currently in one of the still-ruined houses in Sanctuary with a selection of joke books strewn across the kitchen table along with a variety of clothing. If he had to hear X6 say “knock knock” with a slightly off intonation one more time, he might grow his hair back just to rip it out. He wouldn’t have guessed it was even possible to ruin a knock knock joke.

X6 frowned at his reflection. “I find it hard to believe Sole will find this change of clothing humorous.”

“Do you really have a better idea?”

X6 shot him a frustrated glance and stepped back. Suddenly there was nothing but a shimmer in the air.

“Aw, c’mon. You can’t just use a stealth boy when you don’t want to talk to me anymore.” Deacon spun around the room trying to track the telltale shimmer, but it was gone. He kicked a stray board on the ground and ran a hand over his smooth scalp. “Damn it.” He plopped onto the single chair behind the table with a sigh and suddenly the loudest fart he’d ever heard echoed around the room. He sat as still as stone until the last THPPTPHTPHPHHPH faded out.

X6’s head popped around the door frame, still in hat and mustache. “I have heard that humans find biological functions humorous…”

Deacon stared at him wide-eyed. “A whoopee cushion?!” X6 watched as he cackled so hard he almost fell off the chair and pounded on the table.

“This is acceptable then?”

Deacon tried to collect himself and said while wiping his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, Eight-Eight. Just do that again.” He burst into laughter again. “Where did you even find one?!”

“It’s a waste of our resources,” X6 said reproachfully.

“Trust me, a stealth boy’s never been used for a nobler purpose.”


	2. Annoyed/Angry Danse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hi!! I’m writing a fic with Danse and my SS but i’m having a hard time writing an distrustful/annoyed/angry Danse. Can you write a short fic of a Danse and ss pairing where he and SS are mad at / annoyed with each other but say are forced to go on a BOS mission together?"
> 
> From: kouseki.tumblr.com

A tin can crunched and the feral ghoul in front of Sole spun around right before he could stab it in the kidney. Sole improvised with a kick to the leg and a stab in the neck and the ghoul went down anyway, silent as the grave. Then, it was Sole’s turn to spin around. “Damn it, Danse! If you can’t walk quietly, can you at least stay still?”

“That’s  _ Paladin _ Danse,  _ Knight _ . You’ve been given a certain amount of leeway, but watch your tone,” Danse said with stern disapproval. “Also, if your personal tactics resembled the Brotherhood’s at all, my armor wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Oh, I apologize,  _ sir _ , for not rushing in head first and getting shot to Swiss cheese,” Sole said acerbically.

“Knight, I am not warning you again. Moderate your tone when speaking to a commanding officer or I will remove you as head of this training op.”

Sole started to say something else, but stopped himself. He turned around, muttering mutinously but too quietly for Danse to pick out specific words.

They continued through the subway tunnels, Sole moving like a shadow and Danse tramping after him at a reasonable distance. The power armor’s heavy steps echoed off the shadowy walls and ceilings. When they came to a watery section large enough to be a shallow underground lake, it was Danse’s turn to mutter curses as he splashed loudly through it.

They continued in irritable silence that way for several minutes until Danse said coldly, “Knight, do you know where you’re going?”

Sole whipped around. “Know where I’m going? Of course I know where I’m going!” he said indignantly.

“Really? Because we’ve passed that subway car before.”

Sole scoffed. “How would you know? All the damn subway cars look the same.”

“Not all subway cars have that specific skeleton holding that specific stuffed bear, Knight. Is our current lack of direction related to the reprimand you received for drawing caricatures during the mission briefing?”

“I was doodling, okay? I wouldn’t have to if Quinlan wasn’t as dry as old bones.”

“ _ Knight _ .”

“Yeah, yeah,  _ Proctor _ Quinlan. Sorry,  _ sir _ .”

Danse took a moment to think. "...So if you weren't paying attention to the briefing, how have you been deciding our directions?"

"My gut."

"Your gut?!” Danse said, aghast.

"My gut, my intuition, my sixth sense, a hunch. I can talk like a goddamn thesaurus too," Sole snarled.

"That’s the last straw, Knight!” Danse said furiously. “I'm taking over this op. And we're going this way. Now." Danse pointed down a tunnel to the right rather than the left Sole was going to take.

"Fine!" Sole threw up his hands. "Whatever you say, Paladin."

As they walked deeper into the tunnel, it did seem to be fresh ground. It was drier for one thing. It also smelled much much worse. Sole pointed that out at length with sadistic pleasure and, by the time they hit the end of the tunnel blocked with debris, Danse’s jaw hurt from clenching it so hard.

Sole grinned viciously. “Where to now, Mister Paladin, sir?”

Before he could reply, they both heard distinctive growling and the rustle of tattered fabric behind them. As Sole slowly turned, he saw ghouls dislodging themselves from every nook and cranny of the tunnel they’d walked through. There were at least twenty as far as he could tell. He shot a glance at Danse. “Happy with our direction now, sir?”

Danse readied his laser rifle and said grimly, “When we get back to the Prydwen, you’re going to wish the ghouls had eaten you. Now shut up and shoot.”


	3. Deacon/Female Sole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Deacon and female sole survivor flirting and getting handsy during a mission"
> 
> From: Anonymous

“You come here often, pretty lady?” Deacon asked with an eyebrow wiggle above his sunglasses, stepping out of the shade of a ruined building.

Sole grinned and folded her arms. “A dive like this? No way.”

Deacon gestured grandly at the shattered brick walls illuminated by the dim evening light. “Hey, this is the finest trash pile in the Commonwealth.”

“You’re the finest trash pile in the Commonwealth.” She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek, tilting back her black fedora. “I missed you though.”

“Hey, I think I might be offended.”   
  
Sole snorted. “The package isn’t here yet so you’ve got some time to feel your feelings.”

Deacon moved forward to wrap his arms around Sole. “I can think of some other things to feel…”

“I am scandalized and shocked!” she said with mock outrage but rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him as well. “I really did miss you.”

“I’m not surprised. I’ve been told I’m extremely lovable.” He lifted her lips to his with a gentle hand on her cheek.

Sole smiled sweetly at him. “I’m willing to concede that.”

They had only been apart for two days, but it felt like much longer to Sole. She deepened their kiss, playfully darting her tongue across his lips and then between them. He happened to have the pompadour on today so she ran her fingers through it and pulled him as close to her as he could get with her silver scarf and black trench coat separating them. She ran her hands down his back and then up under his thin white t-shirt.

"Whoa, whoa, Sole. Business before pleasure." Deacon pulled back, sunglasses crooked and out of breath.

Sole straightened her coat. "Hey, you started it."

"Well, we're going to have to finish it later. Here's the package." Deacon pointed at a bedraggled woman picking her way nervously through a pile of debris several yards away in the evening gloom.

Sole sighed. "All right, as long as you promise. Later."

Deacon took her hand and gave her a last peck on the cheek. "Pinky swear."


	4. Piper/Female Sole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "could i maybe get a piper/fss fic where ss is just kind feelings lost and unsure of the new world and piper comforts her? thank you!!"
> 
> From: Anonymous

Piper squinted groggily at her Wakemaster alarm clock. It was 3 am and she wasn’t sure why she was awake. As she stared at her shadowed ceiling, she heard a soft noise coming from the ground floor. At first she assumed it must be Nat reading comics in the middle of the night, but then she remembered the Vault Dweller. The woman had wandered into Diamond City doe-eyed, covered in scrapes and bruises, and obviously confused. Piper could have just pointed her to the Dugout Inn but she didn’t have the heart. The poor thing just looked so out of her element and harmless that Piper had offered her and her dog the use of her couch for the night.

Well, she was awake now, Piper thought. Might as well have a smoke before trying to sleep for a few more hours. She rolled out of bed in her oversized t-shirt and shorts and poked her head downstairs to see what the Vault Dweller was up to. Not robbing her blind hopefully. She saw the woman sitting on the long couch with her head in her hands and Piper realized the noise was soft crying. She froze, not sure if she should go upstairs and leave the woman to her grief or if she should offer a sympathetic ear. She finally decided on sympathy and said hesitantly, “Hey, Blue?”

The Vault Dweller startled, teary and wide-eyed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I- I woke you up…”

“Nah,” Piper lied. “Just a midnight nicotine craving. Do you want some company?”

“S-sure,” she said and tried to wipe her face and nose. Piper pretended not to notice and spent some extra time finding her matches and cigarette pack to give the woman more time to collect herself.

She finally plopped onto the couch next to her and said, “Cigarette?”

The woman nodded hesitantly. Her hands seemed a little shaky so Piper lit another one for her off her own and passed it to her. They smoked in silence for a long moment and the familiar ritual seemed to soothe the Vault Dweller a little.

“Hey, want some junk food? A bowl of Sugar Bombs tastes even better at-” She glanced at the woman and saw that she had started to cry again. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry, I…” Piper trailed off, not sure what to say then hesitantly put her arm around the other woman and patted her shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay, Sole.”

Sole gave a watery laugh. “Not unless you can rewind time 200 years.”

“It’ll be okay as it can be, I mean,” Piper said awkwardly. “We’ll go see Nicky in the morning with your mutt and we’ll figure out what to do next between the four of us.”

“I know but it’s just… Everything is wrong!” Sole collapsed sobbing into Piper’s shoulder. “I’ve never fired a gun before! People have never tried to kill me before! I’m a lawyer, for god’s sake. Nate’s the one who could rescue Shaun and he’s… He’s…”

Piper wasn’t sure what to say so she just held onto the other woman while the shoulder of her t-shirt got soaked. After some time, Sole seemed to have finally cried herself out and sat back, wiping her eyes and nose again.

“Feel better?” Piper asked.

“A little bit, thank you. Sorry about your shirt.” She looked up at Piper with her big, blue, appealing eyes, tear-streaked face, and reddened nose and Piper felt her heart flip a little.

“Now look, Sole,” she said, taking the other woman’s hand impulsively. “I can’t promise everything is going to work out, but I can promise you I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’ll find some answers for you, no matter what they are.”

She cursed internally. Apparently, one desperate pretty face was all it took to turn her to mush. But then Sole smiled at her and it was like the sun emerging from behind the clouds.  _ Ah hell, _ Piper thought.  _ Here goes nothing. _


	5. Strong x A Big Rock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Strong x a big rock because that's about all he deserves"
> 
> From: kingrusty.tumblr.com

“Do you think he knows?” MacCready asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe he thinks it’s alive,” Cait whispered back.

They had taken up a position hidden by a stand of trees and some brush to peer at Strong’s back. The super mutant was sitting on a hill several yards away next to a large boulder. It was too far to hear clearly, but he seemed to be talking to it.

“I’ll give you ten caps to ask him about it,” Cait said.

MacCready shot back, “Ten caps to risk getting my head separated from my body? Try at least fifty.”

Cait thought for a moment. “Thirty?”

“I won’t do it for less than forty.”

“All right, you miser. I’ll go for forty.”

“Okay, fine. But I want to be buried with them if anything goes wrong,” MacCready said nervously.

She gave him a slap on the back. “You’ll be fine. He likes you!”

He gave her a sour look. “He also likes to eat people.” Cait gave him a shove out of their hiding spot before he could complain anymore. He made sure to stomp a little as he walked up the hill. The last thing he wanted was Strong to think he was trying to sneak up on him. Once MacCready was a few feet away, he stopped and awkwardly cleared his throat. “Hey… Hey, Strong, buddy…”

Strong turned his head. “Hello, Mack Ree Dee. You come talk to Rock Friend too?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah. You want to introduce me?” MacCready walked around to the front and was mildly alarmed to see a crude angry face had been scratched onto the bloody surface.

“This Rock Friend. He not talk, but he listen good. Not many talk to Strong so Strong make Rock Friend to replace brothers. He good fighter too. Helps Strong with hunting. Very good at smash.”

“Oh… Oh, is that s-so?” MacCready said. “Well, s-sorry for interrupting your conversation, I’m just… gonna go.”

“Goodbye, Mack Ree Dee. Maybe we hunt later.” Strong said and turned back to his rock.

When he got back to the trees, Cait said, “Well? What’s that all about then?”

MacCready just shook his head. “Keep your caps. I’m gonna try to forget I ever saw that.”


	6. Piper and Nat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Piper and sister; a scare"
> 
> From: horrorempathy.tumblr.com
> 
> This one's spooky!

Piper cursed to herself as she stomped through the rainy Boston night. Damn the dark, damn the cold, damn Nat, and (most of all) damn Sheng Kowalski and his ghost stories. Because of him, Nat had come home one day babbling about a haunted house near Diamond City.

“A lady died in the house!” she had said.

“Nat,” Piper said patiently, “People have died in all the houses here.”

“Yeah, but this wasn’t that long ago! She was going to get married but she got murdered in her big white wedding dress and Sheng said they shot her and stabbed her and cut out her eyes and-”

“Oh, come on! That’s disgusting,” Piper said, holding up her hands. “I’m going to have a talk with Sheng and I want you to forget about it. It’s gonna give you nightmares, kid.”

“Nuh uh! I never have nightmares,” Nat said firmly.

“Okay, kiddo. Whatever you say.” And Piper had rolled her eyes and gone to read Sheng Kowalski the riot act and she had thought that was the end of it.

Yet now here she was with a crowbar, getting soaked, and worried that Nat was going to get eaten by super mutants. Or even rad roaches! She was just a little girl, pretty much anything could eat her.  _ Okay, get ahold of yourself, _ Piper thought.  _ Nat is tough. All you have to do is find the house, grab her, and drag her home. No problem. _

She was concentrating so hard on not worrying, she marched right past the house in question, and had to turn around and go back. It was notable for still having a bright red boarded-up door with some remaining red trim on the windows. The door and windows were boarded up as Sheng had said they would be, but Piper went around the back and found the basement window that a board had been ripped from. Still cursing, she got down in the mud, and used the crowbar to pull off more boards to make an adult-sized hole. Then, she shimmied through the window, and fell into the basement. She landed with a heavy thump and a large puff of grey dust that immediately stuck to her wet face and clothes. Spitting and wiping at her face, she looked around the dark basement. There seemed to be nothing but a few shelves with broken bottles and a stairway going up. Piper pulled a candle and matches out of her pocket. Lighting the candle, she looked around again and saw some smaller footprints in the dust going up the stairs.  _ Gotcha, Nat. _

She went up the stairs herself as they creaked and groaned underneath her. She came up into what used to be a kitchen and had a look around the filthy room. No Nat hiding in the fridge, no Nat in any of the cabinets. Piper walked through the only door and into a living room which still held a tattered couch and broken table lamp. There was also another stairway going up. Her candle kept flickering alarmingly as if it was always on the edge of going out. The shadows around her swung and danced as if they were alive.  _ This isn’t creepy at all, _ she told herself stubbornly.  _ Just another gross old house. You’ve followed Blue into plenty of those. _

Nat didn’t appear to be hiding behind the couch or in the bedroom next door with its dusty ruined mattress. She took a deep breath and headed up the second set of creaky groaning stairs she’d been on that night. They led up into a hallway with doors on the right and left. Piper paused to listen for a moment and heard some soft crying coming from the end of the hallway. “Nat?! Nat, are you in there?!” she yelled as she rushed forward.

“Piper?” Nat’s shaky voice came from behind the door on the left. “Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me, kiddo. Open the door.”

“I can’t. It’s stuck,” she said tearfully.

Piper tried to sound confident for Nat’s sake. “All right, step as far back as you can. I’ll pry it open and then we’ll get the hell out of here, okay?”

“Okay.”

Piper set down her candle and went to work with the crowbar prying at the edge of the door.  _ Damn it, if Blue was here, she’d have ripped this thing off its hinges already,  _ Piper thought in frustration. Slowly but surely the door cracked open a little at a time. Finally, the lock gave and it sprang open with a bang. “Hey, kiddo, you ready to-” Piper started but was interrupted by a shriek.

“Ghost! Stay away!” the little girl screamed and cowered at the back wall.

Piper crouched down and said soothingly, “No, no, it’s just the dust, see?” She gave her arm a shake to reveal part of the familiar red trench coat. Nat watched with wide eyes then ran straight into her arms, getting covered in dust as well. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Piper said, rubbing her back. “C’mon, hold my hand and let’s get out of here.” Nat nodded emphatically and they made their way back down the hallway. As they started to go down the stairs, Piper was stopped by Nat tugging on her hand.

“Piper… What’s that…?” She pointed back down the hallway. Piper turned to look and saw a large transparent white cloud in front of the rain-spattered window at the end of it. The longer she looked, the more it seemed to resolve into the shape of a large white ball gown. Above it was a floating round head shape with black holes where eyes should be.

“Nothing, kiddo! Trick of the light! Candles are crazy like that. Let’s go,” Piper said hurriedly as she tugged Nat down the stairs behind her. They both ran for the basement and took the stairs down two at a time. Piper thought she might have heard moaning behind them, but refused to think about it too hard. She hoisted Nat up through the window first, threw her the crowbar, then pulled herself up into the mud again.

They both stopped for a minute to catch their breath. Sitting on the wet ground and puffing, Piper definitely heard a distinct moaning faintly come up from the basement. “All right!” she said abruptly, jumping up and wiping off some mud. “Sounds like the wind’s picking up. Let’s get going!” She dragged Nat up and walked briskly toward Diamond City, resolutely refusing to look behind her the entire way.


	7. Danse and Preston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hi! Hope you're well! Please write a wee fic about Preston comforting Danse post BB. Thank you!"
> 
> From: red-king-4.tumblr.com

Danse sat on the brick wall at the edge of Sanctuary’s slow-moving river, feet dangling off the edge over the water. There was a small pile of beer bottles next to him and he took a swig out of one of the last full ones. The sun had long since set and a sky full of stars glittered above him, but his eyes were focused on the ground. He plucked at his new set of civilian’s clothes, jeans, white t-shirt, loose plaid shirt. It felt sloppy and threadbare compared to his old uniform. He’d kept that, despite everything, and it was folded at the bottom of his duffel bag, never to be worn again. He felt a cramp in his chest at that thought and closed his eyes against it.

He was still alive, thanks to Sole, and he tried to put on a brave face for her, but he’d just been existing for weeks, not really living. He didn’t want her to think he was ungrateful, but he had no idea what to do next and, honestly, he preferred not to think about it anymore. It was easier to let the flat blankness wash over him, especially with an extra layer of numbness added by some whiskey or beer.

As he sat with his eyes closed, he heard quiet footsteps approach then stop. “Hey,” Preston said from behind him. “Do you mind some company?”

Danse grunted and gestured vaguely at the empty space on the wall next to him. The other man settled himself next to him on the wall, propping up his laser musket nearby, and they sat in silence for a long moment as the river continued quietly by them. Preston sighed and looked up at the stars. “Nice clear night tonight, huh?”

Danse grunted again and took a drink. After a few minutes, he pushed a beer over. “Drink?”

“Sure. Thanks, man.” Preston took a long drink and said, “So how are you holding up?”

“Fine,” Danse said gruffly, still looking at the ground. “Still alive.”

Preston looked at him thoughtfully. “Yeah, you are. But is that enough?”

Danse shot him a look “What do you know about it, Garvey?” he said sharply.

Preston’s voice was unusually grim. “Oh, I know a few things. About feeling useless and about giving up. About choosing to keep going.”

Danse looked at him now instead of the ground. “So you really think you know about finding out your whole life was a lie?”

“That’s the thing. Was it all a lie? You’re a good man. You tried to help people. I think you can own that, no matter what.” Preston was still looking up at the stars.

A lump swelled in Danse’s throat and he spoke roughly around it. “So what? That’s all done now so what’s the point?”

Preston turned to look at him. “Is it done? There’s still a lot of good that needs doing out there. There’s a lot of bad people hurting good people, a lot of good people that need help.”

“Are you saying I should join the Minutemen, Garvey?”

“I’m saying there’s still work to be done if you’re looking for work to do and you seem like a man that needs some work to do.”

Danse sighed and looked up at the night sky himself. “Where would I even start?”

“Start with what you know,” Preston said patiently. “I just gave Sole a lead on some raiders over in the Thicket Excavation. I’m sure she could use some help.”

After a long pause, Danse said softly, “All right. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”

“Sounds good, man.” Preston gave him a pat on the back and drained the rest of his beer. “Thanks again for the drink.”

Danse was silent as Preston picked up his musket and slipped into the shadows to continue his patrol around the settlement. He looked up at the stars again, then poured the rest of his beer on the ground. There was work to be done in the morning.


End file.
